55 countries submit pledges to cut emission to UNFCCC

BERLIN, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has received submissions of national pledges to cut and limit greenhouse gases by 2020 from 55 countries, according to a report released by UNFCCC on Monday.

These countries together account for 78 percent of global emissions from energy use, the report said.

"This represents an important invigoration of the UN climate change talks under the two tracks of Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.

"The commitment to confront climate change at the highest level is beyond doubt. These pledges have been formally communicated to the UNFCCC. Greater ambition is required to meet the scale of the challenge. But I see these pledges as clear signals of willingness to move negotiations towards a successful conclusion," he said.

The next round of formal negotiations is scheduled to be in Bonn, Germany, at the end of May 2010. Several countries have indicated their wish to see a quick return to the negotiations with more meetings than the scheduled sessions. "We are seeking further guidance from governments," de Boer added.

The secretariat will continue to maintain and update the lists on its website.

The Copenhagen Accord produced by Copenhagen meeting on December 19, 2009 asked both developed countries and developing countries to indicate their support and emission reduction targets before January 31.

However, at the first press conference after the Copenhagen meeting on January 20, de Boer said that deadline is a "soft" one, countries who "fail to meet it can still associate with the accord afterwards."